My Experience in PNG (Part 3)

We hopped on a little plane and headed to Ukarumpa.  Ukarumpa is in the mountains.  The weather is much cooler since we were above 5000 ft.  Breathing was a bit difficult at first.  I kid you not, during the training, I was probably in the best shape of my life.  We had hiked and walked everywhere and swam and were constantly on our feet….when we got to Ukarumpa, because of the altitude, we became winded, had to stop and catch our breath, just walking from the bedroom to the kitchen. J

Here is a picture of the apartment that we first lived in when we arrived in Ukarumpa.  Here, we at least had a house made of materials that weren’t all from the bush.  We had toilets and showers and refrigerators.  Life was GREAT!  But, it was still very different if you compared it to my life here in the States.

(One of the many cars we borrowed and drove.)

Everything had to be cooked from scratch.  We had a little store on center….which some compare it to a store you might find at a larger campsite.  So, we could buy some convenience foods, but they were really expensive.  So, I had to learn very early on how to cook everything from scratch.  And, I have to admit, it was kind of fun!  

It was fun to cook, but it wasn’t always fun washing all our dishes by hand, hanging all our laundry to dry, using cloth diapers for kids. 

I made some amazing relationships in PNG.  I was a part of a Bible Study group where I was the only American.  Everyone else was either from PNG, Germany, Argentina, Sweden and I know I am missing some other countries.  Meeting with these ladies felt a little like I was in heaven. J

I was surrounded by a great group of expat (expatriate) women.  As a mom, I always had a friend around to have a playdate with.  Ben had friends from so many different countries. 

I also had the relationship with my haus meri.  In PNG, it is expected to have someone come in and help with laundry and dishes and cleaning. (Explain) Priscilla was my friend and my helper.

Backstory- For those of you following this blog, you may have read Caleb's posts about James and how instrumental James was in helping to bring about peace in the valley again.  If you have not read those, they are here on this blog and worth a read.  Anyway, Priscilla was James' sister.  We knew Priscilla before knowing James and it was just so great to see how God has placed this precious family in our lives for a reason.

Before I left for PNG, I was a part of the Wednesday Morning Gospel Transformation Bible Study.  When I left, the ladies in this group gave me the Jesus Calling devotional.  They all signed the book.  If some of you are here tonight, I just want to thank you for this book.  It was a way for me to connect with Priscilla.  Every day, we would sit down to tea (10am).  She would read the devotional in English (broken English at times).  Then, there are verses at the end….I would read those verses in Tok Pisin (broken Tok Pisin), then she would read them in English.  After that we would share prayer requests and pray for each other.  When I left, I was able to gift that book to her….and she cried tears of joy and was so thankful for it.

Gosh…there is SO much to talk about….I just can’t go into it all….but her village had been burned down the day we arrived in PNG.  Knowing that I left her with a book that would help her be in the word every day meant so much to me. 

I guess I ought to talk a bit about the security situation.  When we arrived, things were bad.  Caleb’s first day of work, Ukarumpa village (neighboring village) was burned down and refugees were flooding our center looking for safety. Threats were made against the center’s new water project. Guards forced off their posts….a neighboring village wanted the security guard contract, so they decided to intimidate the already existing guards and take up their place. Then, there was a long series of break-ins and a death of one of the guards. (On a side note, the death was cultural.  We lived in "an eye for an eye" type of place.) Our center was averaging a break in every single night…for the month of August.  Caleb started working in May and this began happening in August.

(Caleb's security team, not pictured- about 30 guards)

So, as I was learning how life was going to be…cooking from scratch, staying on top of all house stuff, this was what was going on with Caleb.  Here is a picture of me with Ben, but it was not a good time in our life.  Our faces do not show how hard it was early on.

I would like to read a letter. I believe it gives a very good description/summary of Caleb's role in PNG: